Live Application Support Review

I thoroughly enjoyed working at Hewlett Packard throughout my year long placement. I was giving lots of formal training and a great insight into the company before starting my official role. I was treated like any other colleague but was given more tasks to measure my performance from the Educational Hire Team. After 6/7 months I was also given the opportunity to change my role and try out another role in the same/different sector. I personally didn't take this opportunity as I felt I still had a lot to learn in my current role.

I always felt very valued by my colleagues. Ever since my very first day with them I have been treated like any other colleague and have always felt like part of the team. I have never been segregated because I was an Intern or been given lesser responsibility. They have always given me the same responsibilities as anyone else on the team and expect me to meet their requirements all the same. It has played a huge part in how my internship has turned out.

Throughout this experience I have had both the Educational Hire Team there to support me, I was given a mentor, who was previously an intern but now a seasoned graduate to help me with both personal and work related problems. On top of that I have had the support of my work supervisor, my manager and my people manager who have been there for me whenever I have needed them. Hewlett Packard really provide a great support network to both ease you into the company and to ensure you prosper.

On a day to day basis I was quite busy. On a day that I wasn't too busy I would ensure that I did something about it. Either by looking for things that needed doing or asking around to my supervisor or my manager to see if they needed a hand with something or if not, if they had any work that they could give to me to do. No person in any company is busy 100% of the time, and a lot of roles can be busy only at certain periods, so to make the most out of your short experience you need to have the initiative to look for more work.

I was surprised, but even from the first day on the job I was put under a lot of pressure - not overwhelmingly so, but I had a lot of responsibility. During the first few months, I was given more work to do, bringing me up to the same level as the rest of the team, such as doing out-of-hours work etc. Soon after I mastered that, I was given projects to lead and was dealing with high-up managers and given the chance to network and meet a lot of new people in different teams and organisations.

I found that during my time with the company, I utilized a lot of my skills that I had learnt during my time at university. For instance from day one I was given the opportunity to utilize my SQL skills, my project management skills and my coding/scripting skills, just mentioning few examples. Alongside this I also was taught a new coding language and was given all the help I needed when put into a situation where I had no skills to bring to the table. Everything you learn during your time at the company better prepare you for real life and for your graduation as well as giving you the tools you need to succeed in final year. Doing a year placement is invaluable as the skills you gain during that year stay with you for life.

The atmosphere in my office was that of a very friendly atmosphere. There is no animosity and everyone is very friendly and helpful. The company have an open door policy, meaning that no managers are segregated into closed offices, everyone sits at desks beside each other, giving the place a sense of community. People chat to each other like friends, not distant colleagues. I've always found it a very nice and friendly environment to work in.

The overall internship was set up well. When we first joined the company I wasn't too impressed as our two week formal on-boarding session was cut down to one hour. They seemed short on both staff and resources. Other than that we were given training courses to do, group and team-building activities before being put into our formal roles. Thereafter we were given a mentor which we could meet with as frequent as every two weeks. We were also reviewed on our performance every 3/4 months which was very useful.

The company invested in us deeply when it came to our training and development. As aforementioned, during our first few weeks we were taught about the company and what it stood for, given many training courses to do and even put on a three day ITIL course where we were taught the ITIL foundation course by a qualified instructor and had the opportunity to sit the test for it as well, which was all paid for. Other than that the performance reviews which were held every 3/4 months really helped in indicating where you were doing well and what areas you could maybe improve on.

Future employment prospects are very appealing within the organisation. The company's graduate scheme is one of the best in the country, offering benefits the same as a normal employee, a two year contract at least a very competitive starting salary which is accompanied by a great sign-on bonus. Along with this the graduates get the opportunity to transition between roles and even accounts under the company and they have the option of doing so every year if not sooner. The graduates on the scheme, similar to interns are also paired with mentors and also have performance reviews as well as the additional FPR (fiscal period review) which every employee is subject too.

At the very beginning there was a great social scene between my fellow interns, graduates and apprentices. Unfortunately soon after we arrived this dwindled. We then took it upon ourselves to start organising the nights out as it was a great way to get to know people your own age, from all over the world really, especially being an intern who moved from a different country, knowing no-one in Newcastle!

The cost of living and socializing in Newcastle wasn't too bad. I came down from Aberdeen in Scotland, where the cost of living was £500 a month for shared accommodation but socializing was dirt cheap. Living here in Newcastle was the complete opposite! You can easily find prime house-shares for £300 a month including all bills but then socializing is a bit more expensive. I would normally spend £40 on a night out which would include my taxis to and from town, drinks in a few bars, club entry and a take-away after the night.

The nightlife in Newcastle is pretty good! Don't let the Geordie shore crowd throw you off, as they show it to be dingy. There are a wide variety of clubs to visit and bars for that matter, there is literally something to suit absolutely everybody. There's a lot of bars which do three treble vodkas for £5. Some bars which do student deals; two jagaerbombs and two double vodkas for £5. Some clubs stay open until 6/7am.

There are lots of opportunities to get involved with activities outside of work. Every week we get a communications email which is sent internally to the entire site, informing us of all the upcoming events, news etc. You get informed of charity events/volunteer events, who to contact to get involved, sporting events going on in the area, sports teams you can be involved in, new policies that come to light and even new discounts that come available (for football matches and racing events etc). You are also given four hours a month which you can use to volunteer or raise money for a charity you believe in during you're normal working hours!